Gov.-elect Wolf is in D.C. to tout Pennsylvania, build relationship with White House

— As Gov.-elect Tom Wolf builds his team in Harrisburg, he's also got his eye on building relationships in that other capital city.

He was among a small group of incoming governors who spent Friday at the White House, meeting with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and an array of other administration officials.

On the agenda for Wolf's visit were sessions with federal cabinet secretaries for education, transportation and health and human services. The newly elected politicians met up with Biden over lunch, where they discussed infrastructure and other issues.

"I think what we heard today was that the White House, the executive branch, is willing to be very flexible with us and trying to help us deal with the specific issues we have in the states," said Wolf as he stood outside the West Wing with soon-to-be governors from Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas.

Obama said in a statement he looks forward to getting to know the rookie governors individually. "My main message to them is that we're here to help," he said.

In an interview before his White House meetings, Wolf said he had already reached out to several federal officials, including the agriculture secretary and the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, on state concerns as he prepares to take office next month.

He has unanswered questions about one priority that will require federal sign off — undoing the alternative Medicaid expansion plan that the outgoing administration of Republican Tom Corbett has implemented.

Enrollment has begun for that alternative health insurance program for the working poor, called Healthy PA. But Wolf instead favors expanding the state's traditional Medicaid system as other states have done under the federal health care act.

HARRISBURG — In a case of political deja vu, the state's outgoing and incoming governors are bickering over the state deficit and seeking to write their own versions of what caused the shortfall.

On Wednesday, the outgoing administration of Republican Gov. Tom Corbett announced what most political...

(Steve Esack)

Wolf said it's not clear yet how soon that switch can occur and what exactly state officials will need to do to make it happen. But he pledged that he will make sure the transition is "as seamless as possible."

"I don't want to have a break in service," Wolf said. "I will do that in a way that doesn't diminish the benefits for Pennsylvanians. I hope it will improve the benefits."

Wolf's fledgling team already has a number of expensive challenges awaiting them, including a projected budget deficit for next fiscal year that Corbett's budget office says will top $2 billion.

He said he believes the deficit will be even higher, and has tasked some transition team members with putting together their own analysis of the state's fiscal outlook.

Pennsylvania has been "an underachiever" economically, he said. As he builds relationships with federal officials, Wolf says he'll be emphasizing that the state has excellent resources and that improving its economic status will help both the region and the country.

"What can we do to get the federal government to look kindly on Pennsylvania when it comes to the things that I want to do?" Wolf asked, pointing to job creation and infrastructure development as examples of where the two levels of government should work together.

But on regulations where he thinks the state could be adversely impacted, such as with a pending EPA climate-change rule, Wolf said he'll be speaking up.

He had already reached out to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy about concerns over the proposed goal for cutting carbon emissions from power plants. A state like Pennsylvania that has significant coal resources and generates energy for other states might need more flexibility, he said.

"We have to figure out a way to make sure that the rules coming out the EPA, while necessarily strong on the environment, also recognize Pennsylvania's situation," Wolf said.

Wolf said he intends to work closely with the state's mostly Republican congressional delegation. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey helped him on the campaign trail, and Wolf says he's talked to several other legislators, including Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, by phone.

Even though Obama came out to give Wolf a boost during the campaign, there's still a bit of aura to chatting with the president in the Oval Office. The meeting won Wolf extra points with at least a couple of his constituents.

"It's the kind of thing that makes me a hero to my daughters," he said with a smile.